A Tribute to My Dad (continued)

Dad trained and qualified as an accountant, and worked mainly in the motor business. By the end of his career Dad had moved out of accountancy becoming first Financial Director and then Managing Director of Harpers in Stevenage. I know that he was respected as an honest, kind, hard-working but fair-minded, compassionate, man of integrity, and was held in high regard by colleagues and business contacts.

He was very involved in church-life, mainly in Baptist churches. He was a deacon, a lay-preacher, and an elder. Dad was very creative when it came to children's talks in church. He would use very simple ideas and make something of them. I remember one tim when he asked us children what he should talk about for one children's talk. As a joke (or even a dare) I said ‘sausages’ ... so he did! He was also ahead of his time in some ways. I remember Dad gathering us around a reel-to-reel tape recorded with pots and pans, making a real din to create a sound track for an Old Testament battle - I think it was one of Gideon’s.

'His church involvement was merely the outward appearance of a deeply committed faith in Jesus, which he shared with Mum. It also led him to involvement in various Christian organisations. He became involved in Youth For Christ when we were in Wales, and as treasurers are such a rare commodity took up this role with the national movement. He also served as Chairman and Vice-President during the thirty of more years of his involvement. I don’t think there are many now who appreciate how long he served or the critical role he played in the movement, not least in the key turning point of appointing Clive Calver as National Director, which resulted in a dramatic turnaround for the organisation. He was also served on the Boards of Yeldall Manor and Novi Most.

Family life is inevitably a mixture of joy and sadness. We have many happy memories of holidays, outings, long drives in the countryside with picnics (normally in the car with the driving wind and rain), Sunday afternoon walks. Holidays seemed to have their fair share of incidents especially on our touring holidays. Dad enjoyed driving, but there was something about reversing... it was in Oberammergau that he back the car into a tree in a car park, and we weren’t able to open the boot for the rest of the holiday. It was a good job it was an estate! He also took these skills into a motor boat we hired in a harbour. On our return he thought he’d be helpful by backing up onto the slipway - not a good idea with the propellor at the back of the boat!

Dad enjoyed his TV. Classics such as Dad’s Army, Yes Minister, The Two Ronnies, for example, caused him much amusement. Any passing resemblance to Captain Mainwaring or to Ronnie Barker was purely coincidental!

There was also great sadness. Mum and Dad were devastated by the sudden death of their youngest, Ian, when he was just 15. It hit us very hard as a family. Losing their first grandchild, Lindsay, was heartbreaking, especially seeing the hurt it caused Rachel and Ian. Losing Mum three years ago to cancer also took its toll. Mum meant everything to Dad. They had spent 46 years together, and Mum did so much for Dad and the family. She always said she hoped Dad would go first because Dad wouldn’t be able to cope without her. But despite the heartache and the loneliness, he did cope – but that didn’t take away the pain.